MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Audi agrees to pay US$ 930m fine for rigging diesel vehicles

Settling the case with prosecutors in Munich brings Audi parent Volkswagen one step closer to putting its ongoing diesel emissions scandal behind it

German luxury automaker Audi will pay a fine of roughly US$930 million to settle regulatory action in its home country for rigging some of its diesel vehicles with illegal software designed to defeat emissions tests, the company said on Tuesday.

Settling the case with prosecutors in Munich brings Audi parent Volkswagen one step closer to putting its ongoing diesel emissions scandal behind it. Volkswagen has already paid out billions of dollars in fines after news broke in 2015 that it fitted millions of vehicles with devices designed to make emissions levels on diesel vehicles appear lower than they actually were.

The Munich public prosecutor required Audi to accept responsibility as part of the agreement.

In June, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was arrested in connection with the scandal.

Audi said in a statement that “the fine will directly affect Volkswagen AG's financial earnings and, as a negative special item, reduce the group earnings for fiscal year 2018 accordingly.”